2015: RFID is all over - make way
for super RFID

RFID is now the
mainstream, according to industry figures released today, and by
2015 it'll be time for the next generation of the technology.

Speaking at the RFID ROI Summit
in London today, Nigel Montgomery, director of European research at
AMR Research, said the track-and-trace technology is now starting to
reach maturity and businesses are clamouring for it.

"The reality is RFID... has
come on in leaps and bounds," he said. "There's been a lot of hype
around what RFID might be able to do for you... but the reality is
there's a business need there."

"When people say [RFID] is
immature... that is an incorrect statement," he added. "We're now in
the early adopter stage."

Sesh Murthy, director of IBM's
RFID and sensors unit, said that by 2015 all processes will use
RFID.

"I don't know how we will get
from here to 2015 but the technology will change," he said. As well
as a revamp of RFID readers, "back-end systems will change, the
processes that use RFID aren't set in stone," he added.

However, with most CIOs now at
least looking into the chip technology if not actively implementing
it, the RFID pioneers are turning towards the next generation of the
technology, dubbed 'super RFID'.

AMR Research's Montgomery said:
"The truth is the technology has moved on immeasurably in the last
three years" and now "sensor technologies" are being added to the
RFID mix.

Super RFID is essentially a
sensor network or sensor telemetry. Instead of passive tags, which
simply store information, sensor networks can be used to monitor
conditions and record that data, and, if necessary, set off an alert
if a condition moves beyond certain criteria.

Sensor networks could be used
to monitor temperature-sensitive materials and send a text alert to
a mobile phone if the material's temperature moves beyond its set
range, for instance.

Super RFID is already being
used. BP is working with Accenture on a sensor network to look after
its rail cars.

As well as keeping track of a
car's whereabouts with GPS, the sensors monitor a car's temperature,
weight and whether it has been hit or knocked.